Omaha Public Radio News

3:03 am

Thu October 9, 2008

More homeless in Omaha metro area, according to new report

Omaha, NE – A new report shows the number of homeless in the Omaha metro area is up from last winter.

Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, or MACCH, says their first-ever summer count shows 1,263 people in the metro area are homeless. That's a six percent increase since the previous count in January.

MACCH Executive Director Erin Porterfield says the increase is due to two factors. She says the first is a 108 percent increase in the number of people sleeping on the streets. The second is an eight percent increase in the number of families staying at domestic violence or emergency shelters.

Porterfield says the overall results of the summer count show a decrease in chronic homelessness.

She says a ten-year plan is being developed to prevent homelessness in the metro area. That plan includes early intervention strategies and a push for affordable housing.